Would Jose Enrique be a good replacment for Gael Clichy?

Gael Clichy looks set to leave Arsenal,and join either Liverpool or Roma. The French left back became the first choice when Cashley Cole made the trip across London to join Chelski. Gael made an outstanding start to his career and instantly became a fans favorite, with many fans believing he would go on to be as good as Cashley Cole.

At the time this looked very possible but after a couple of brilliant seasons,it became clear that Gael would never become a world class left back. In the last couple of seasons, he has been prone to the odd major error. He has been an excellent servant for the Arsenal,and it will be a sad day for the club when he leaves. It is very likely however,as the Frenchman only has one year left on his contract. Gael has expressed his desire to leave and Arsene is looking to cash in this Summer rather than see another Frenchman leave on a free transfer, like Flamini.

There have been a variety of players linked with Arsenal as a replacement for Gael Clichy. At this present time Jose Enrique looks to be the most likely candidate. He is a dynamic full back, who would definitely add far more offensively than Gael. Gael has never lacked pace but his final ball, always leaves a lot to be desired. He is also a solid defender and would be available at a reasonable price. We are likely to get around £7 Million for Clichy, and we could get Enrique for around the same price.

My personal choice to fill the left back spot would be Leighton Baines of Everton. I believe he has been the best left back in the country over the past couple of years. He is an excellent defender, and would offer a great option for set pieces. Instead of Van Persie constantly blasting the ball over the bar. He is however going to be considerably more expensive and if Man City are interested then there is no way we could match the transfer and contract offer they would put on the table.

Another far cheaper option would be to move Thomas Vermaelen to left back. He played there for Ajax and still does for Belgium. He would clearly do a very good job at left back, but I can only see this happening if we sign both Samba and Cahill which is looking unlikely. Therefore Enrique is the most likely and sensible option and I believe it is very likely we will see him lining up alongside Vermaelen and co next season at the Emirates Stadium.

Is it time for Theo Walcott to play as a striker for the Arsenal?

Theo Walcott joined Arsenal from Southampton back in 2006. He was one of the brightest young prospects in the English game and clearly still is. Since he joined the Arsenal he has nearly always been used on the right hand side of a three man attack. He's been playing on the right wing for a couple of years now, but I believe it is clear that he is better suited playing alongside Robin Van Persie up front.

 He is a clinical finisher as he proved last season. He scored 13 goals in 38 appearances, a very good record for a winger. He also set up 10 goals for his team-mates, which was an area of his game he needed to work on. It is also clear to see that Walcott has blistering pace. He can make full backs look stupid with his pace and I believe his pace would be a potent weapon when playing as a striker. He would torment the centre back's especially in the Premier League where none of the centre backs are equipped with serious pace. I see him playing a Michael Owen role up front and I strongly believe he would be successful playing alongside someone as intelligent as Robin Van Persie. They would compliment each others games well and im sure they would both benefit from playing alongside each other.

Robin Van Persie had an outstanding second half to the season, and he is capable of continuing in a similar fashion for next season. He is one of the best strikers around and would only benefit by having Theo playing alongside him next season. Obviously for Theo to play up front it would mean a change in formation from Arsene's favored 4-2-3-1 to a traditional 4-4-2. If Fabregas does leave, it is very likely we would switch to a 4-4-2 anyway as Cesc is the reason we have been playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation. It suits the Captain perfectly but if he does stay I still believe he would be outstanding in a 4-4-2 formation. Playing alongside the  combative Jack Wilshere, Cesc would still be able to play in an attacking role as Jack clearly doesn't mind playing in  a more defensive role. Also if we have Samba, Cahill and Vermaelen in our defence we don't really need someone like Song protecting the back four.

 I don't expect Wenger to use a 4-4-2 formation in every game but I believe he will switch between the two formations throughout the season. After all when he signed Theo, he said he saw him as a striker and Theo himself has said he would prefer to play up front in the future as it is his favourite position. If Theo is used up front regularly, there will be plenty of competition for the right sided midfield spot at Arsenal, especially with the signing of Gervinho looking very likely.